Sp!ke
Administrator
W123 2.5L 6 cylinder petrol, automatic, 49,000 miles, 8 seater with ice cool aircon, power steering, electric windows all round, Independent heating, power steering, electric o/s mirror, velour cloth upholstery, self levelling suspension.
This car was originally owned by a middle eastern diplomat based in Knightsbridge. The car spent the first 20 years in an underground car park in his possession before being sold on with around 35,000 miles on the odometer about 5 years ago. The car was then purchased at auction by a friend who then passed it down to me. Unfortunately it was bought at auction with little history. When I initially got my hands on it, I was a little wary of its providence, but the closer you look, the more the car convinces you that the mileage is genuine. Very little wear on seats, pedals or wheel, steering and suspension tight as you like... The oil pressure is nice and high and sits at 2 at tickover on a hot engine. If you know cars and you know W123's, you'll see what I mean when you inspect it and take it for a drive... Its even still on its original exhaust with the factory stickers still in place on it, the more you look, the more it convinces you that its genuine - as I say, you really need to spend an afternoon wafting around in it to appreciate it. It does have a sticker on the rear windscreen saying serviced by Alan Davies , who I keep meaning to try and contact to see if they have any record of service history. If I cross their palm with silver hopefully they will give me a print out of what they have.
When I got the car, the only work required on the car outside of normal service items was to replace most things rubber. The tyres were all replaced as were all the belts and many of the fuel lines. The near side control arm was also replaced and the tracking realigned. All fluids and filters were also changed. It is due a further oil and filter change which will be performed before the sale of the car.
The car is very solid and unlike many W123’s there is no rot. Normal trouble spots such as under the battery tray, the bulkhead, the front and rear windscreen seals and the two side bootwells are all in very good shape and there are no leaks. It appears to have been waxoiled early on in its life and all recesses and seams are still coated in a waxy yellowy orange coloured substance. The underside of the car has also been undersealed. Everywhere is in very good shape with no visible areas of concern.
Cosmetically, the bright work is pretty good and shines up nicely. The paint isn’t bad and is probably on par with a car of this age with original paint. In other words, it could be better. Although it has had relatively little use, it seems with London driving it has suffered the inevitable parking ding here and there which may be improved upon by a PDR person. There is also a small patch of rust around the size of a 50p piece on the lower rear corner of the drivers door. (pictured below)
I put the chrome arches on myself as there is a smallish dent on one of the rear arches which ideally needs repairing. I didn’t want to start respraying bits of the car as it would probably not be a perfect match to the 25 year old paint. So I put the covers on as a quick and dirty fix to hide the ding. There is no rust or anything nasty hiding under any of them though (apart from the ding mentioned above).
The interior is in very good condition and all 8 seats have no rips or tears or significant stains. The carpets are in very good condition having been protected by rubber floor matting.
This is one of those cars that I know I'll really regret selling in years to come. At the moment the cost of maintaining 3 cars and err.. 4 motorcycles is a bit of an issue. So unless you know of a nice dry barn I can store her in for a decade or so, I reluctantly have to sell this car as it’s simply not getting enough use and I have nowhere to store it.
Hopefully an enthusiast who knows a thing or two about W123’s will buy the car and cherish it for years to come.
The car can be viewed in West London - Offers accepted in region of £2800 which I think is a very reasonable price for an unusual unmolested dignified classic that with little tlc would be a lovely addition to someones car collection. There's one Black one for sale elsewhere currently for £3900 (overpriced perhaps) and another white one with much higher mileage that sold on Ebay recently for £2500, so pricewise, I think its the right sort of ballpark and a lot of car for small money.
Pictures tell a thousand words, so here’s a few more to tempt you.
Split fold middle row of seats with single seat folded down.
Leg room with middle seats folded forward
Carpets removed to show condition under flooring.
Under rear seat (cabling on left relates to original Racal phone)
Under front passenger foot well carpet
Boot recesses shown below with boot liner removed to show no rust (this is a common weak point)
The orange coloured substance in the below picture is a Waxoil type rust preventative (which is found in all vulnerable points around seams and recesses on the car)
Note not only odometer reading but good oil pressure at tickover indicating strong engine.
Unmolested but clean engine bay.
Small rust bubble on lower drivers door
Damaged trim and paint on rear o/s corner
Underside of car showing liberal coating of Waxoil type protective substance everywhere presumably applied by first owner – it did its job, all nicely sealed and no rust issues.
Limo on holiday duty on a beach in Montenegro
Getting roped in for a friends wedding
Please PM me for more info .... damn I'm going to miss this car.
This car was originally owned by a middle eastern diplomat based in Knightsbridge. The car spent the first 20 years in an underground car park in his possession before being sold on with around 35,000 miles on the odometer about 5 years ago. The car was then purchased at auction by a friend who then passed it down to me. Unfortunately it was bought at auction with little history. When I initially got my hands on it, I was a little wary of its providence, but the closer you look, the more the car convinces you that the mileage is genuine. Very little wear on seats, pedals or wheel, steering and suspension tight as you like... The oil pressure is nice and high and sits at 2 at tickover on a hot engine. If you know cars and you know W123's, you'll see what I mean when you inspect it and take it for a drive... Its even still on its original exhaust with the factory stickers still in place on it, the more you look, the more it convinces you that its genuine - as I say, you really need to spend an afternoon wafting around in it to appreciate it. It does have a sticker on the rear windscreen saying serviced by Alan Davies , who I keep meaning to try and contact to see if they have any record of service history. If I cross their palm with silver hopefully they will give me a print out of what they have.
When I got the car, the only work required on the car outside of normal service items was to replace most things rubber. The tyres were all replaced as were all the belts and many of the fuel lines. The near side control arm was also replaced and the tracking realigned. All fluids and filters were also changed. It is due a further oil and filter change which will be performed before the sale of the car.
The car is very solid and unlike many W123’s there is no rot. Normal trouble spots such as under the battery tray, the bulkhead, the front and rear windscreen seals and the two side bootwells are all in very good shape and there are no leaks. It appears to have been waxoiled early on in its life and all recesses and seams are still coated in a waxy yellowy orange coloured substance. The underside of the car has also been undersealed. Everywhere is in very good shape with no visible areas of concern.
Cosmetically, the bright work is pretty good and shines up nicely. The paint isn’t bad and is probably on par with a car of this age with original paint. In other words, it could be better. Although it has had relatively little use, it seems with London driving it has suffered the inevitable parking ding here and there which may be improved upon by a PDR person. There is also a small patch of rust around the size of a 50p piece on the lower rear corner of the drivers door. (pictured below)
I put the chrome arches on myself as there is a smallish dent on one of the rear arches which ideally needs repairing. I didn’t want to start respraying bits of the car as it would probably not be a perfect match to the 25 year old paint. So I put the covers on as a quick and dirty fix to hide the ding. There is no rust or anything nasty hiding under any of them though (apart from the ding mentioned above).
The interior is in very good condition and all 8 seats have no rips or tears or significant stains. The carpets are in very good condition having been protected by rubber floor matting.
This is one of those cars that I know I'll really regret selling in years to come. At the moment the cost of maintaining 3 cars and err.. 4 motorcycles is a bit of an issue. So unless you know of a nice dry barn I can store her in for a decade or so, I reluctantly have to sell this car as it’s simply not getting enough use and I have nowhere to store it.
Hopefully an enthusiast who knows a thing or two about W123’s will buy the car and cherish it for years to come.
The car can be viewed in West London - Offers accepted in region of £2800 which I think is a very reasonable price for an unusual unmolested dignified classic that with little tlc would be a lovely addition to someones car collection. There's one Black one for sale elsewhere currently for £3900 (overpriced perhaps) and another white one with much higher mileage that sold on Ebay recently for £2500, so pricewise, I think its the right sort of ballpark and a lot of car for small money.
Pictures tell a thousand words, so here’s a few more to tempt you.
Split fold middle row of seats with single seat folded down.
Leg room with middle seats folded forward
Carpets removed to show condition under flooring.
Under rear seat (cabling on left relates to original Racal phone)
Under front passenger foot well carpet
Boot recesses shown below with boot liner removed to show no rust (this is a common weak point)
The orange coloured substance in the below picture is a Waxoil type rust preventative (which is found in all vulnerable points around seams and recesses on the car)
Note not only odometer reading but good oil pressure at tickover indicating strong engine.
Unmolested but clean engine bay.
Small rust bubble on lower drivers door
Damaged trim and paint on rear o/s corner
Underside of car showing liberal coating of Waxoil type protective substance everywhere presumably applied by first owner – it did its job, all nicely sealed and no rust issues.
Limo on holiday duty on a beach in Montenegro
Getting roped in for a friends wedding
Please PM me for more info .... damn I'm going to miss this car.
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